


Studies in Last Minute Longing

by whythursdaynext



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Gift Fic, all season 6, because I'm not ready for this show to be done yet, collected from three tumblr posts, new last chapter!, sorry the last one is depressing, updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4144698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whythursdaynext/pseuds/whythursdaynext
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three mini fics from episodes 6x09 to 6x12. Gifts for tumblr users thecloseryoulook-thelessyousee and 60whowwockedfb8109, and one inspired by a gifset from thediaryoflaurapalmer. <br/>All Jeff x Annie! Abed also makes a brief appearance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Introduction to Subtext in Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie looks really good in her spy dress, and Jeff gets distracted. 
> 
> A gift fic.
> 
> [Edit: Annie's eyes are blue, not brown. Thank you Fiona for catching that. I feel like Elton John in "Your Song."]

for [60whowwockedfb8109](http://60whowwockedfb8109.tumblr.com/)

 

Annie looked amazing in that dress, just like a real femme fatale. The whole place had actually cleaned up okay; it really looked like a gala, instead of what it really was: a passive-aggressive apology to the custodial staff of a third-rate community college. This must be attributed to Frankie, Jeff thought. Greendale left to its own devices could do over-the-top and ridiculous, but never classy.

Speaking of class, he spotted Annie again, still slinking around in that fantastic dress with no back and the kind of front that really showed off her assets. She and Abed were walking the perimeter or something— he had stopped paying attention once Abed had turned this round of paintball into yet another homage. These days, it seemed like Annie was spending a lot more time with Abed and his weird references and games. She was probably just trying to help Abed fill in the gap that Troy had left. Annie was kind like that.

It meant though that Annie hadn’t been teaming up with Jeff for all of this year’s Greendale Wacky Adventures™. They were such a great team when they were together. He missed her. He had to survive this round of paintball alone, with only the Dean for backup. Everyone knew the Dean was absolutely useless as backup. Maybe it was for the best. He and the Dean were going to be stuck at Greendale forever. Abed and Annie still had a chance to make it out. Well, Annie more than Abed, but if Chang could go viral, who knew what Abed could do?

Jeff sighed and continued to scan the room for weapons and other suspicious looking things. It was his job to make sure that the guest of honor, asshole that he may be, didn’t get taken out. Jeff had decided to take this duty as seriously as he ever took paintball games at Greendale.  
He stepped off the podium to get a new angle on the room, and nearly ran into Annie.

“Jeff,” she said. “What did you- I mean, fancy meeting you here.”

He decided to take this opportunity for a bit of Annie oogling. It couldn’t be that wrong to smell her hair and get a nice long look down the front of her dress.

He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “You found anything?”

Annie looked at him, her big blue eyes reproachful. “Jeff, that’s why we have these,” she said, tapping the hodgepodge bluetooth-children’s toy communicators Elroy had somehow pulled together in the last 48 hours. “You’re going to blow our cover.”

The communicators were a bigger threat to their cover, honestly. Now Jeff had an in. Annie had made a statement, and it was a duty to his nonexistent legal career to take her statement down.  
Jeff summoned up all the charm of the former lawyer and smiled his classic Winger smile.  
“Won’t it seem more suspicious if the members of the Save Greendale committee, formally of the Greendale 7, also known as the study group, suddenly started avoiding each other? It would be the talk of the evening.”

While saying this, Jeff had stepped just close enough that Annie had to crane her neck up to see his face. She smiled back at him, but then her forward wrinkled as she processed the content of his argument. “I guess…”

Jeff pushed the accelerator a little more. “So we should continue this conversation for a few more minutes, just so everything seems normal.”

“While keeping an eye on the crowd to spot the assassin! Good thinking, Jeff,” Annie said, lightly punching him in the arm.

With Annie and her boobs within three feet of him, Jeff had nearly forgotten the whole reason they were dressed up in the first place. He shoved his dirty mind back to the task at hand very reluctantly. “Right.”

“So, Jeff,” Annie said in a very casual tone, “how are you enjoying this evening?” She said, slowly and dramatically turning to face the crowd.

“Well, it’s a Greendale party, so I’m still waiting for Leonard to show up and say something offensive to kick the whole thing off. Frankie’s really done a great job here.”

Annie turned back abruptly at this comment. “She has, hasn’t she? She’s really starting to get along with everyone, too.”

“Sure…” Jeff said. “I mean, she’s weird, but we tolerate Chang and his insanity, so Frankie’s weird professionalism should definitely be encouraged around here.”

Annie smiled widely at this. He smiled back, basking in the moment.

She looked down sheepishly after a few seconds. Why, Jeff wondered grumpily. And that thing with Frankie… was Annie jealous? Of Frankie?

Annie frowned suddenly and reached for his bow-tie. She straightened it a little, and then patted her handiwork. “There,” she said. “Perfect.”  
Jeff froze, wishing this could last forever. It was a brief second where he could pretend that Annie and he were together, that after this they would sneak off to a hotel room, and then he would wake up to her smile and maybe stay the morning, too.  
But Frankie was suddenly pulling him by the elbow. It was time for his speech. Time to get his head back in the mission. Jeff allowed himself one more second of imagining Annie waking up next to him, and then stepped on the stage to do his duty for Greendale.


	2. Grifting 201: The Advanced Applied Con

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff is sad after all the grifting's been said and done. Annie makes it her mission to find out why.
> 
> A gift fic.

for [thecloseryoulook-thelessyousee](http://thecloseryoulook-thelessyousee.tumblr.com/)

 

The celebratory hot dogs after they’d showed up that asshole grifting professor had turned into celebratory frozen yogurt, and then Britta had to work, so Jeff hijacked the celebration to Britta’s bar. Annie had rolled her eyes, but gone with it, and now, a very fruity pina colada down, she was feeling really really fun. She sauntered over to Jeff, who was nursing a scotch at a booth in the corner, looking very melancholy for someone who had just out grifted a professional grifter. It was so not like him to not be the center of attention of everything.

So Annie, perhaps a little forwarder than usual, thanks to the alcohol (why did she have to be such a lightweight?) jokingly punched Jeff in the arm and said, “Why the long face, Jeffery Winger?”

“You’re awfully friendly this evening,” Jeff said dryly, “Britta let you have the whole Margherita again?”

“Pina Colada, actually,” Annie said, sliding into the booth next to him, nearly spilling the Amaretto Stone Sour she currently held in her hand all over the table. She stopped sliding when she ran into Jeff. He looked down at her, bemused. She could move. Or she could stay, she was comfortable. Jeff made her feel comfortable. And if he didn’t like it, he could move.

He didn’t. Annie grinned inwardly. They sat in silence, sipping their drinks. Then Annie remembered that he hadn’t answered her question.

“Jeeefff,” she said, trying to be persuasive and sounding more whiney. “You never answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Why the long face, Jeffery Winger?”

Jeff looked at her intently for a moment, probably trying to gauge if she had crossed the line from tipsy to drunk.

“Riiiight,” Jeff said, swirling his liquor, “Listen Annie, I…”

“Yes Jeff?” Annie batted her eyelashes a few extra times. For effect.

“Never mind,” Jeff said, “It’s not really a big deal or anything.”

Normally Annie would have left it alone, but Jeff really seemed upset about something, and Annie Edison was nothing if not a good friend.

“Seriously, Jeff, come on,” Annie said, trying to be more serious through the alcohol haze. “You can tell me. I have time.” She gestured to her mostly full glass.

“Annie,” Jeff said, “just drop it, okay?”

“Fine,” Annie said. They sat in silence for a moment, both sipping their drinks. Annie, a little peeved that Jeff wouldn’t talk to her, decided that she was going to dedicate her evening to making Jeff Winger talk.

Annie now had a mission, and if there was one thing that tipsy Annie was just as good at as sober Annie, it was perseverance. And tipsy Annie even had a plan. The secret reason Annie had wanted to take Grifting 101 in the first place was because she wanted to learn how to con people as well as one of her favorite fictional characters, Davy Dempsey. Davy was from a romance novel called Faking It, by one of Annie’s favorite authors, Jennifer Crusie. (Not that anyone else knew that. Annie had decided a long time ago to not tell the study group how much she loved romance novels. She had already heard Britta’s rant about how romantic comedies brainwash women into adhering to an antiquated system of patriarchy and essentially slavery. Annie didn’t need more Britta lectures in her life.)

In the book, Davy teaches his niece the essential Dempsey con- uh, sales pitch- for getting whatever you wanted. Annie felt like now was the perfect time to use it. Her confidence was buoyed by the fruity alcohol and the successful day of grifting. The best part was that Jeff probably didn’t know this. She could con the conman.

Annie sipped her drink, pleased with her plan, and searched back in her memory for the first step in the Dempsey Sales Pitch. Step one, she remembered, was: “Get the mark to smile.” Annie knew for this to work, it had to be a real smile, not just one of those Jeff Winger classics, full of detachment and always in the middle of selling you something or making you agree. Jeff Winger may have been the master of getting what he wanted, but tonight Annie Edison would take him down.

She took another sip for courage, and looked up at Jeff and smiled, ready to do an impression of Chang or Abed to coax out a smile.

“Jeff,” she said, smiling, and Jeff smiled back.

He smiled back for real, just because she smiled at him. She had forgotten she could do that.

“Yes, Annie?” Jeff answered.

Getting the mark to say “yes” was step two. Annie gave herself a mental high five. Damn was she good at this. She then remembered that Jeff was waiting for a response, and looked around quickly, trying to remember was step three was.

And then she spotted the pool table, sitting under a glowing overhead lamp, the felt a rich and velvety green, currently undisturbed by drunks trying to imitate the ESPN World Billiards Trick Shot contest. The pool table was almost never open here. Jeff had complained about it a lot when they had first started coming here regularly, but he hadn’t mentioned it recently. Pool would be perfect for getting him to talk. She set her glass on the table and slid back out of the booth.

“I’ll be back in a second,” she sing-songed over her shoulder, as she headed for the bar. Britta, as the barkeeper, had the key to the pool balls. Britta raised an eyebrow and made some comment about how billiard games ruined a good bar atmosphere, but Annie just told her to pay her rent, and grabbed the key. She walked back to the booth and waved the key in front of Jeff’s face.

“I’m going to play some pool,” Annie said, “Want to join me?”

Jeff looked up at her, highly confused. “I didn’t think you knew how to play pool.”

“Well, you can teach me then,” Annie said, her voice bright and shiny, because she had just remembered step three: Make the mark feel superior. Playing pool always made Jeff Winger feel superior.

Annie pulled cues and chalk off the rack on the wall while Jeff racked the pool balls.

“Since you don’t play much, I figured we’d play eight-ball,” he commented as she handed him a cue.

“Okay. Can you show me how to line up a shot again?” Annie answered.

“Sure.” Jeff walked around the table and pretended to set up a shot. “Left hand on the table, use your fingers to hold the cue steady, right hand drives.” He stood again, and motioned for her to try it.

Annie set up a fake shot, pretending to struggle getting the cue lined up on her fingers. Jeff reached over to help. They spent the next few minutes with Jeff helping Annie with her stance.

The secret was, Annie actually had played more pool in the last couple years. She wasn’t as good as Jeff, but she wasn’t half bad either. This wasn’t about showing Jeff up, this was about conning him. Her ego could take it.

She stood and said, “I think I’m ready to play.”

“Great,” Jeff said, “You can break.”

Now that she had him teaching her something, it was time to move to step four: Give the mark something. They were in a bar, and Annie didn’t really want to turn this into a long con, but then she remembered that “something” didn’t necessarily mean a physical object. It could be a compliment, or a favor. It just had to be something that made the mark feel like he was ahead in the conversation. Annie looked down to find her drink and caught a glimpse of something infinitely more useful: her cleavage, currently held in control by the strategic use of a blazer. Perfect.

Annie chalked her cue and leaned over to break, the first shot of the game. She then stood back up and shook out her shoulders. “It’s tricky playing in this jacket,” she announced, and set her cue against the wall and took it off. She snuck a glance at Jeff, who suddenly seemed much more alert.

She picked up her cue again, leaned over the table, and took her shot in one smooth motion. One of the stripes went in, but she still made sure to sneak a look at Jeff. He was definitely looking down her shirt.

“Easy-peasy,” Annie said, and lined up her next shot. The ball bounced out of the pocket, but she really didn’t care, because she had successfully pulled off step four. Only one to go.

Jeff lined up three beautiful shots in a row and pocketed three solids, not even touching the stripes, while Annie thought how to accomplish step five: get the mark to give you what you want, but make it seem like you’re doing them a favor.

She frowned and leaned slighted over the table. Jeff set up another shot, but hit it wonky, and the cue ball bounced one of the solids off a pocket corner instead of sending it straight in. It was Annie’s turn.

“Okay,” Annie said, thinking fast. “How ‘bout a little bet?”

“Suuuuure,” Jeff said, hesitantly. “What’re the terms?”

“If I get this next shot in, you have to tell me what was bothering you earlier.”

Jeff sighed. “And if you miss?”

“I will talk the Dean and Frankie into letting me sub for your class for a week,” Annie said, knowing she had him sold. She scoped out the table for her next shot, letting the hamster wheels in Jeff’s brain turn. Not having to teach for a week while still getting paid was a Jeff Winger dream deal, and she doubted that he thought she could pick anything off the mess that was the pool table right now.

“You seriously think you can get Frankie and the Dean to agree to a full week?” Jeff’s voice wasn’t completely skeptical. She got him.

“Of course,” Annie shrugged nonchalantly, “It’s me. They owe me.” She really didn’t think that would work at all, but the alcohol was making her cocky.

“It’s a deal.” Jeff leaned over to shake her hand, then gestured at the table. “Take your best shot.”

Annie looked the table over one more time, just to be sure. Then she leaned over and lined up her cue with a ball sitting on the far end, next to the wall. It was a tricky shot for someone with not much pool experience, but theoretically simple. Annie had always been good with theory.

She took a deep breath and then took the shot. She could feel Jeff’s surprise as he watched the cue ball shoot down the table, narrowly avoiding three balls on the way. It clipped the striped ball by the wall on its side with enough momentum to send it careening towards the pocket. Annie had a slight moment of panic when it hit the pocket wall, but that bounced it down into the pocket, and she had made her shot.

“YES!” Annie yelled, probably louder than necessary. “I got it!” She took a moment to do a little victory dance, and then pointed to Jeff. “And now you have to tell me why the long face.”

Jeff had been grinning at her exuberance. His smile faded a little bit, but he acquiesced. “All right, come here,” Jeff said, using his head to illustrate.

Annie trotted over almost without thinking. Jeff put his hands on her shoulders, leaned over, and whispered into her ear, “Annie Edison, one day you will president.”

Annie frowned and pulled away to see his face. “What does that mean?” She asked, still a little too loudly.

Jeff smiled, but it was back to being twinged with melancholy. “Wasn’t part of deal.” He shrugged and walked back to the bar.

“I thought we were playing pool!” Annie called after him.

Jeff slid a credit card over to Britta at the bar, and called back, “See you later, Annie.”


	3. Applied Documentary Filmmaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abed's filmmaking escapades leave Jeff really hurt.

[Inspired by this [gifset](http://thediaryoflaurapalmer.tumblr.com/post/119950652494/you-know-in-movies-where-the-heros-wife-or) by [thediaryoflaurapalmer](http://thediaryoflaurapalmer.tumblr.com/)]

 

Abed reviewed the _Annie Home Video in Case of Kidnapping and/or Death_ footage for the fifth time, carefully taking notes on lighting and blocking, and the best place to cut before Britta’s unnecessary interruption. Annie, despite the _Karate Kid fiasco_ , was a decent actress, which was going to make this footage even more powerful in his Jeff and Annie master project, _The Annie of It All_. After 6 years at Greendale with them, Abed had amassed a lot of footage of the two of them skate around each other and their mutual feelings. This summer, during his annual old footage review, he had had the excellent idea of turning the mountain of film on Jeff and Annie into a documentary. It could be his greatest work, a study of love in the real world, in real time, as it was happening, not as it was staged for the screen. All was left to be seen was if the love story of Jeff x Annie (that’s what the shippers would call it, and Abed liked to be ahead on these fan trends) got a happy ending or not.

So, when Garrett hired Abed to film his proposal and the subsequent wedding, Abed had taken the opportunity to push a little at Annie and Jeff, see what they felt about the situation, and if it could lead to a change in their relationship. He edited one clean copy of the wedding for Garrett and his fiance, but Abed didn’t feel quite finished with it yet. So he decided to cut another vision, framing the wedding in the context of Jeff x Annie. That meant he was adding some of the footage he’d shot of Annie the other day, and Jeff’s comments before and after the proposal scene. This version was far more interesting than a standard wedding video, much more visionary, but Annie had told him that people didn’t really want vision at their wedding, they’d much rather have a straightforward record of the day. Abed thought this was boring, but as long as he still got to put together his magnus opus with minimal effort, then he was happy.

* * * * * *

The Monday after Garrett’s wedding was a typical one for Jeff: he went to his morning class (damn Frankie and her insistence that he teach before noon), said one thing that vaguely related to the study and practice of law, and then retreated back to his office and his supply of whiskey and his phone.

Abed poked his head in the door. “Hi, Jeff.”

“Hi, Abed,” Jeff replied, not looking up from his phone.

“Do you mind if I leave my stuff here while I haul the camera equipment I borrowed for Garrett’s wedding back to the film department? Starburns has been taking unattended bags again and selling the stuff on Craigslist to fund his cat-car start-up.”

Jeff nodded and gestured in the vague direction of an empty corner, head still buried in his phone. “Be my guest. I’m here until my next class starts.”

Abed set his backpack down in the corner, and left. Jeff waited 15 seconds to make sure that he was gone, and then rolled his chair over and opened up Abed’s bag. He rummaged through the middle pocket for a moment, until he found the plush fabric of Abed’s laptop case. Jeff looked at the door guiltily, before pulling the laptop out and flipping it open. Abed, luckily, still didn’t bother using a password.

Abed had left his film editor program open again. His latest project was labeled “Garrett’s Wedding, Jeff x Annie.” Jackpot.

Jeff had a personal policy to review any of Abed’s footage of him to make sure it met the high standards of the Jeff Winger brand, which is why he always tried to get his hands on Abed’s computer during Abed’s documentary phases. This was the second time he actually had been successful. He rolled back over to his desk and set the laptop down. Jeff pressed play, reaching for his glass as the first frames filled the screen. The first scene was from the day Garrett had proposed in his class, which was just as awkward to watch as it had been to live through, but then Abed had left his weird question to Jeff tacked in on the end. Jeff frowned and took another sip of whiskey.

The next scene was at Abed, Annie, & Britta’s apartment. Annie was laughing and telling Abed to get the camera out of her face. Jeff smiled involuntarily back at her. It was the next part that hurt.

* * * * * *

Abed pushed open the door to Jeff’s office. He heard Annie’s voice telling him to get the camera away. Abed then remembered that he had left his laptop open to his special cut of Garrett’s wedding, and that Jeff Winger could not resist watching himself on film.

Abed cautiously leaned his head into the room, as to get a good look at Jeff without Jeff noticing.

Jeff was currently frozen, watching Annie on the screen, whiskey glass halfway to his mouth, face blank. He stayed like that for the rest of the Annie sequence, until Britta interrupted and asked what was going on. The appearance of Britta seemed to shake Jeff out of his reverie. He snapped the laptop shut and threw the remaining whiskey in his glass down his throat. Jeff reached for the bottle and poured himself another glass.

“Jeff?” Abed asked, stepping into the room.

Jeff looked up at Abed. “What the hell, Abed?”

“I don’t understand what—” Abed started to ask.

“Why the hell did you make a ‘Just in Case Annie ever Gets Murdered’ movie? What would anyone ever need that for?”

“I didn’t—”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s art, you didn’t think anyone would care or notice, but you have got to stop doing this, Abed. Using Annie and Britta and the Dean and everyone else as your Guinea pigs for your art film experiment of the week. We’re real people, Abed. These are our real lives.” Jeff finished off his glass and shoved his whiskey back in his drawer. “And I have to go teach a class, so if you would excuse me,” Jeff said, walking out the door, early to class for the first time in his life.

Abed focused on processing this moment for the first few seconds after Jeff’s departure, and then moved to the desk. He picked up his backpack and his laptop, reflecting that maybe the reason no one ever did realistic depictions of love on screen was because no one ever wanted to be filmed falling in love.


	4. Practicum in Intervention and Remediation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie in 6x12
> 
> A gift fic for bethanyactually from her tumblr ask. 
> 
> Annie confronts Jeff about his drinking problem at Garrett's wedding.

It was after Jeff’s fourth scotch that evening that Annie decided it was finally time to say something to him about his drinking problems. After last year’s incident, Annie had put an alarm on her calendar for his birthday and made sure that he wasn’t by himself. He’d made it through his birthday okay, but as that anniversary came and went, Annie had realized that Jeff had been drinking constantly for more than an year now. It was time to admit that Jeff was an alcoholic. A functioning, extremely attractive alcoholic, but neither of those two things made him any less of an addict. Annie would know.

Strangely enough, it was the amount of alcohol that Annie had drunk herself tonight that sparked the idea of talking to Jeff in her head. Well, that, and something that Frankie had said. She took a deep breath to steel herself, and went to track down Jeff. She found him charming the hell out of one of Garrett’s cousins.

Annie arrived just after the punchline of whatever story he was telling. She waited politely for a moment for the laughter to die down, then put a hand gently on his elbow. “Hey, Jeff. Can I talk to you for a second?” Her voice was a little shakier than she would have liked, but the usual solution for instant courage now would probably undercut her overall message.

“Uh, sure…?” Jeff replied, shrugging at the cousin and letting her tow him over to a quieter corner of the reception hall. “What do you need, Annie?” He said, taking another sip of his scotch.

Annie eyed the glass in his hand. “Jeff, how many of those have you had today?”

“Uh...like, four, I think…” He frowned. “Why are you asking?”

“Is that any more than a normal day?” Annie said, keeping firmly on track.

“If you don’t count the pregaming we did before at your apartment… no.”

“Right…” Annie tried to keep the slightest hint of accusation out of her voice, instead going for concerned. “Jeff, I’m worried about you.”

“What’s there to worry about?” Jeff answered. “I’m fine. Remember, I even got through my birthday without accidentally ODing this year. I have got everything under control, Annie.” There was annoyance creeping into his voice, but he didn’t seem actively hostile yet, which meant Annie might still be able to get through to him.

“I know, Jeff, it’s just that… basically, you’re a functioning… a… uh…” She couldn’t quite get the word out. If she said it out loud, that might make it real. Jeff would be mad, and stop talking to her, and that was something she wasn’t okay with.

“Annie,” Jeff said, putting his free hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay. I’m not going to deny it. I am an alcoholic. Is it the best place to be? Probably not. But I swear on the Dean’s insane costume collection that I have it under control. It’s manageable, and I am in a far better place than last year.”

“You keep ice cubes in your desk, in a specially modified drawer so that you can have your drinks chilled even in the middle of your class,” Annie retorted.

“Like I said, it’s manageable.” Jeff set his glass on the table next to them, and put both his hands on her shoulders. “Last year, I wouldn’t have even admitted I have a problem. It’s the first step, right? I’m making progress here.”

“I’m not sure that admitting you have a problem is going to get you any closer to doing something about it,” Annie said skeptically.

“Why would I need to do anything else about it? I’m still breathing and driving and showing up to work in the morning. And it’s not like it’s negatively impacted my teaching abilities. No one said you had to be sober to scribble a few words on a chalkboard and press play on the VCR.”

Annie didn’t have to say anything here to convey her disappointment. Jeff had heard her lecture on his teaching practices many times before. She moved past it. “What ever happened to Jeff Winger, lawyer? The guy who couldn’t wait to get out of Greendale and do something?”

“I tried that, remember?” Jeff crossed his arms over his chest. “And I bombed it, Annie. Jeff Winger, Attorney at Law died when he came to Greendale. I’m pretty sure no one misses him that much anyway.”

Annie sighed and looked at the floor. She couldn’t really argue with that, because Jeff Winger, lawyer, was a complete jerk. Jeff Winger, ex-lawyer and current Greendale professor, was really much better.

“People change and circumstances change and we just have to let that happen,” Jeff said. “It’ll be okay.”

Annie leaned in and gave him a hug, feeling far too melancholy for a wedding reception. They ending up swaying a little, almost in time with the music.

Jeff eventually extracted himself. “I guess we should probably get back to the party.”

“Yeah.” Annie stood upright reluctantly. “We probably should. We really don’t want to hijack Garrett’s wedding anymore than we already have.”

Jeff nodded, and recollected his drink. They walked back to the others, and Annie didn’t say anything else about it.  

 

 


End file.
